Does God Want You To Be Rich? The Wealth and Christianity Debate

There has always been a healthy debate among people of faith about wealth. Some people argue that money is the root of all evil, which is inaccurate. Others say that we should strive to be wealthy because wealth is a blessing from God.

Read on and find out my take on the debate. I also have included a great list of resources at the end that can help guide you in the way you think about money and wealth.

Money Answers All Things

On the one hand, the Bible says that “money answers all things”(Eccl. 9:10) , and on the other hand it says that money “is a root of all kinds of evil.”(1 Tim. 6:10).

These verses are just two out of hundreds of verses about money and wealth in the Bible, many of which seem to contradict each other. The resulting confusion leads to plenty of misunderstandings about whether you should consider wealth to be something you should embrace, or an evil that you should surely avoid if you want to stay in good standing spiritually.

These verses are just a sample of the dozens that can be found in the Bible that seem contradictory when it comes to wealth.

So which side is right?

Well, at the risk of sounding somewhat noncommittal on the issue, I’ll have to come down firmly in the middle.

I think both sides are right.

No, I’m not copping out on you. Read on and find out what I’m talking about.

Christians and Wealth, The Debate Continues

Arguments about whether or not it’s ok for a Christian to be wealthy have been around for thousands of years, and the debate will continue on forever. But here’s the deal, being wealthy is an area of life that can be fraught with difficulty if you don’t go about obtaining it in the right way.

Here are a few verses that demonstrate that, and might clear up the debate somewhat:

Psalms 112:3 describes a man who fears the Lord. “Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”

“A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 28:20)

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” (Proverbs 13:22)

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10)

And many more…

Money Can Be a Blessing or a Curse

When I read the scriptures, I see that money, like most any material thing in this world, can be a blessing or a curse. When you focus on money as your main objective, and put it ahead of God, who it ultimately all belongs to anyway, the Bible makes it clear that’s a recipe for disaster in every area of your life, not just finances.

You can see those promised blessings in the stories of Job, Abraham, Joseph, Solomon, and others. These men were richly blessed financially specifically because of their faithfulness to God. Even though they experienced setbacks, their wealth was increased well over what they already had because they remained faithful and put God ahead of money.

It’s God’s Nature to Bless You

God makes it a point to bless you with the great things this world has to offer because it’s God’s nature to bless His people when they’re faithful.

But in general, righteousness is accompanied by worldly success because God knows He can trust a righteous person to do the right thing with the blessings He provides. And when you don’t, then you bring difficulty upon yourself.

So, does God want you to be wealthy?

I think so.

Wealth Is Up To You

Because God’s biggest desire is to bless his people. When you live a righteous life, wealth is just one of the ways that God demonstrates His blessings. But it’s up to you whether or not you make yourself available to receive those blessings. When He knows He can trust you with wealth, He knows you’ll use it wisely toward helping others and expanding His kingdom.

But when you pursue money on your own and make it more important than Him in your life, you might get wealthy, but it won’t be a blessing in the end. Righteous wealth is what He wants to bless you with, and when you put Him first above all else, that’s what you’ll get.

So What Do You Think? Obviously I could have gotten a lot more in depth on the subject, but my intent here is to start a discussion as much as it is to educate. So what’s your opinion on whether or not God wants you to be rich? Leave a comment and let me know.

Want to learn more? Here are some great resources that can help you develop your own thinking on faith and wealth even further.